Question It!

So much is written and spoken by the well-meaning and the Establishment but few seem to be listening to the children.

My late husband was a doctor who firmly believed that given the chance, the patient would lead the medical practitioner to make the correct diagnosis – as long as the doctor gave the patient enough time to talk.

Now I think that is something to emulate as it could well relate to children put in care.

A news item published almost this time last year, highlighted the increasing number of children who go missing from care. Ofsted’s own research concluded that 5,060 children were reported to have gone missing whilst living with foster carers in 2014-15, compared with 4,245 the year before. The total number of times children went missing rose from 13,300 to 17,175.

Ofsted is reported to have said that this startling rise though concerning, could be due to better reporting of the phenomenon.

However, despite increased awareness and better recording processes for children who run away or go missing from foster care, the number of instances don’t seem to be decreasing.

Our question this week, then, is just this: why do you think children go missing from foster care?